Invalid-bedstead



2. t e e h s S t e e h S 5 .D MA AE R OM GD .M EA .V Gm

(No Model.)

No. 559,974. Patented May 12, 1896.

Aunnzw a GRAHAM Punto un@ wAsnmmuN uc (No Model.) 5 Sheets*Sheet 3.

G. E. GORHAM.

INVALID BBDSTEAD.

Nm 559,974. Patented May l2, 1896.

Anuncw a annum Pnooumn WASHINGYON DC 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(No Model.)

G. E. GORHAM.

INVALID BEDSTBAD.

ANDREW BGRAMAM PHuro-Lmio WASHINGTON nn (No Model.) A 5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

G. E. GORHAM. INVALID BEDSTEAD.

Patented May 12, 1896.

n. w V

UNITED STATES PATENT EETCE.

GEORGE ELMER GORHAM, OF Al. iANY, NEXV YORK.

, INVALID-EEDSTEAD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 559,97 4, dated May 12, 1896.

Y Application filed Tune 21,1895. Serial No. 553,503. (No modehl To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE ELMER GOR- HAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Albany, in the county of Albany an d State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Invalid-Bedsteads; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

In Letters Patent of the United States granted to me Septemberll, 1894, No. 525,952, I have described an invalid-bedstead wherein the bed-bottom may be tilted longitudinally for the purpose of facilitating the insertion of a bed-pan beneath the invalid and for bringing him into a sitting position thereon and for the purpose of facilitating the insertion of the canvas strips of a stretcher-frame beneath him and elevating' him above the mattress thereby with ease and celerity.

My present invention relates to certain improvements in the bedstead referred to and its accessories, as hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents in perspective a bedstead embodying my improvements tilted forwardly and with the bed-pan, seat-support, and table-rest in position. Fig. 2 represents in full lines a bottom plan view of the seat proper and shows in dotted lines the operation of the seat-sustaining legs. Figs. 2 and 2b represent in detail the castings for said seat. Fig. represents the bedstead in side elevation, and illustrates the manner of raising the stretcher frame so as to lift the invalid from the mattress while the bedclothes are being renewed. Fig. 4 represents an attachment for exerting a uniform extending strain upon the broken leg of a patient. Fig. represents a side elevation, partly in section, of the bedstead in a horizontal position and with an india-rubber tank in place for bathing the patient or for raising or lowering his temperature. Fig. 5 represents a view of the shoring-piecc used in elevating the stretcherframe. Fig. 6 represents a section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5, omitting the tank. Fig. 7

represents a detail View of one of the actual'- ing-arms for the tilting bed-bottom,and shows the manner of connecting said arm thereto. Fig. S represents in side elevation the bedstead as applied to the restraint of an invalid in delirium. Fig. i) represents a longitudinal sectional view of the bedstead, showing the invalid in a substantially sittin g position. Figs. 10, 11, and 12 represent detail views showing the manner in which the end posts and side bars of the bedstead are assembled. Figs. 13 and 14 represent detail views of the manner of jointing the legs of the supporting-standard of the bedstead and of sustaining the side bars therefrom. Figs. 15 and 1G represent detail views of the joint between a side bar of the bedstead and the corresponding arm of the table-rest support, and Figs. 17 and 18 represent detail views of the adjusting-rack for the table-rest leg.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, it will be noted that the bed-bottom is provided with brackets c, having forked ends c,within which rest the side bars d and wherein they are removably secured by bolts and nuts, as shown in detail in Figs. 13 and 14. The brackets care mounted to turn freely upon the cross-bar D, having screw-threaded ends provided with nuts b toY prevent the brackets from slipping off the said bar. The cross-bar b also serves as the connection for the legs a of the supporting-stand of the bed-bottom, the contiguous ends of the said legs being provided with lugs a, free to turn upon the cross-bar b when it is desired to fold the stand for storage or shipment. When the stand is set up for use, the legs a are held securely at the desired angle of spread by the rods h', having hooked ends which snap over rods h2, which connect each pair of legs. For convenience the legs a are preferably provided with the usual easters, as shown.

The bed-bottom frame is so constructed that the head and foot sections may be readily removed for storage or transport, or so as to convert the bed, when desired, into an operating-table, freely accessible from all points. To this end the side bars (l (which are pref- IOO erably of gas-pipe) are received at each of their extremities within a socket formed in a suitable casting f, as indicated in detail in Figs. 10, 11, and 12. The casting is provided with a conical lug d3, terminating below in screw-threaded pin dtsweated or otherwise secured therein. A cooperating socketed casting c is provided for each of the uprights d2 of the head and foot boards, and this casting has a conical mortise adapted to receive and interlock with the conical lug d3, thereby assembling the two castings, whereupon they may be removably secured together by means of the nut d5 and washer d". In this manner the head and foot boards are securely united to the side bars of the bed, but may be quickly removed by unscrewing the nuts (Z5. rlhe castin gs f are provided with upwardly-extending lugs f', serving as means of attachment for the connecting an gle-irons f2, to which the selvage edges of the woven-wire fabric m3 are fastened. Upon this stretched woven-wire fabric is adapted to rest any suitable form of bed-mattress m4.

The bed-bottom as thus constructed is adapted to be tilted when desired, for the purposes set forth in my Letters Patent hereinbefore referred to. To opposite legs of the stand are secured short uprights (Z7, within which is journaled to turn freely the right and left hand screw-shaft g3, provided at its end with the operating-wheel f3. lith the threads of the screw-shaft engage the nuts j, adapted to travel from or toward each other according as t-he wheel is turned in the one direction or the other. As indicated in detail in Fig. 7, each nut is provided with side lugs serving as journal-bearings for the fork of a swinging link f. The upper end f7 of the link is made spherical and is adapted to engage within a socket-bearingfs, made up of two parts. (Shown separated in Fig. 7.) This bearing is provided with lugs whereby it may be rigidly secured to the side bar (Z by bolts and nuts fg passing through the said lugs and side bar.

The bed-bottom is thus connected to the shaft g3 through the intermediacy of swinging links having a ball-and-socket joint at one end, which permits universal motion thereat, and having at its other end a joint having at all times a movement in a plane normal to the shaft. The gearing remains. set at whatever position of tilting the bedbottom may be left by the operator, and the great leverage afforded enables it to be operated with ease and certainty in either direction. XV hen the bed-bottom is in the horizontal position, I relieve the strain upon the gearing by means of the rest si, consisting, preferably, of an iron rod of general U- shape adapted to swing into the sustaining vertical position shown in Fig. 5.

Pivoted to each of the sideA bars d (by means of a bolt :r and cooperating nut and washer, as shown in Figs. 15 and 1G) is a rod p, to which is jointed a second rodp', havinga pointed end p2, adapted to engage with any one of a series of holes formed in a plate p5, secured to the inner side of d. These jointed rods constitute brackets for the table p, as shown in Figs. 1 and i). Vhen the table is not in use, the jointed rods fold together out of the way, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5. The adjustability of the bracket through the intermediacy of the series of holes referred to enables the table to be placed in a horizontal plane to whatever degree the bed may be forwardly tilted.

The seat and foot rest for enabling the invalid to remain comfortably in an inclined or sitting position is of great simplicity and effectiveness for the particular use intended. It consists of two side straps p7, adapted to be secured by loop and buckle to the head-board uprights cl2 and adapted to be secured at their opposite ends to the padded seat-board p10 by means of end caps. (Shown in detail in Fig. im.) From said end caps straps@S extend tothe padded foot-board p. Each end cap is provided with a socket-recess fr, into which the end of the seat-rest extends and wherein it is secured by screws passing through the holes e. The aperture c2 serves as the means of connection of the strap p7 and the aperture r3 as the means of connection of the strap 1f. The surface t of the end cap is made smooth, and a rivet `rf passes through said surface and serves as a pivot upon which is adapted to turn the swinging leg/1f, connected to the casting by said rivet.

\Vhen the seat is in use simply as a support for sustaining the invalid in the sitting posture, it is arranged as in Fig. which illustrates its mode of use on such occasions. The foot-rest serves as a support for the feet, or for one foot if the other leg is broken, as indicated in said Fig. 9. 'lhe iiexibility of the straps p3 permits the foot-rest to be moved to one side of the broken leg, so as to support the uninjurcd leg without interfering with the broken one. Both the seat-rest and footrest are adjustable jointly and independently by means of their adjustable straps.

When the invalid desires to evacuate, the swinging legs c are brought into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 and in full lines in Fig. 1, thereby leaving a free and unobstructed place beneath the seat-rest. The bed-pan .c is thereupon inserted within this space, as indicated in Fig. 1, and pressed forward against and beneath the hips into appropriate position, which position it thereupon retains without further expedient and with complete security against soiling the bedclothes. This is due to the combined action of the inclined bed-surface and the bed-pan of the peculiarconstruction illustrated. The main characteristic of the latter is that its forward edge is iiush with its sides, whose top edges form such an angle with the bed-pan bottom as to come into a substantially horizontal position when the bed is tilted forward.

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I thus dispense entirely with the forwardlyextending projection which is the usual adjunct of bed-pans of this general character, and which is not only a source of discomfort to the invalid, but is itself an element of unreliability in the cleanly use of the pan. In practice I prefer to construct my pan from sheet metal and to provide it with a handle for ready manipulation.

The device shown in Fig. 9 for applying extension to a broken leg, and which constitutes one of the adj uncts of the tilting bed, is illustrated in detail in Fig. 4:. It consists of ayoke w, connected to vertical bars w of the footboard and sustaining the bearings of a sheave to2. Over this sheave passes a stout cord or small flexible rope 102, having the adjustable weights 104 and connected at its forward end to the customary cross-piece Q05, whose side pieces w are firmly secured to the patients broken leg. By varying the number or size of the weights the desired tension may be applied to the leg. The entire flexibility of the cord w3 in the general combination enables the tension device to maintain its useful function and to operate with substantial uniformity at all positions of tilting of the bedbottom.

As in my former patent referred to, so also in the present case I make use of a stretcherframe for the purpose of raising the invalid from the mattress, when occasion requires, and suspending him from the bed-frame. The operation of thus raising the invalid is in substance the same as described in the former patent, and the several steps thereof are indicated herein in Fig. 3. The stretcherframe consists of the tubular side bars Z and the end yokes Z Z2, iitting within said bars and removable thereof. Canvas strips Z2 are adapted to be inserted beneath the invalid to form the stretcher-bottom. To raise the invalid clear of the bed-bottom, the attendant is provided with the shoring-piece s2, (shown in Fig. 5%) consisting of an iron rod bent at its middle and having diverging legs, provided on one side with hook projections s2 and on the other side with additional hook projections s4. Vhile the bed-bottom is in the horizontal position the attendant' places the hooks s2 of the shoring-piece beneath the yoke Z and sets the shoring-piece in a slightly-inclined or bracing position, as shown in Fig. 9. He then operates the hand-Wheel so as to cause the bed-bottom to tilt toward the shoring-piece. During this first tilting operation the end of the stretcher-frame supported by the shoring-piece remains stationary, and when the bed-bottom is so far tilted that the yoke Z is higher than the hooks or catches S5 on the uprights a bar s is placed upon s4. The bed-bottom is then tilted in the reverse direction until the yoke Z' rests upon the bar s6, and the shoring-piece is then transferred to the other end of the bed and its hooks s4 are placed beneath the yoke Z2,

and the tilting is continued until the bedbottom is tilted slightly beyond its original horizontal position. The yoke Z2 is then above the hooks or catches S7 of the head-section uprights, and a bar S8 is placed upon said catches 37. Thereupon a slight tilting forward releases the shoring-piece, deposits the yoke Z2 upon the bar 38, and brings the bedbottom into the horizontal position with the stretcher supported above it, all as indicated in Fig. 3. A reversal of these operations suffices to restore the invalid to the mattress, as will be readily understood. The bars s6 and S8 are hooked at their ends, so as to prevent them from sliding off endwise from the catches, and are preferably provided with short sleeves of soft india-rubber or the like, as indicated in Fig. (i, so as toafford an additional safeguard against slipping. Collars s upon the yokes Z' Z2 rest upon these sleeves to prevent any tendency of the stretcher-frame to move longitudinally during the tilting operation.

As illustrated in Fig. 5, the stretcher-frame may be employed as a means of suspension for the sides of an india-rubber bath-tub a" when it is desired either to bathe the invalid or to lower his temperature by the application of ice or cold water, as in the modern treatment of typhoid fever and the like. Thus, after elevating the invalid upon the stretcher, as hereinbefore described, the bathtub could be set in place. The invalid could then be lowered upon the bottom of the bathtub and the canvas strips removed. The stretcher-frame is thereupon again raised and suspended in the position shown in Fig. 5, and the sides and ends of the tub are attached by hooks 0c to the side bars of the stretcher-frame and to the bars s s2. The bath-tub is provided with tube rc2, having a stop-cock ac3, for the purpose of drawing off the Water when it is no longer needed, whereupon the flexible tub can be readily removed, either by raising the invalid on the stretcherframe, as before, or by sliding it from under him if his condition will permit it.

In Fig. 8 I have illustrated the application of my stretcher-frame to effect the restraint of delirious invalids. The patient, in this instance, is placed beneath the canvas strips of the stretcher-frame in such manner as to pinion his arms and legs, and the stretcher-frame is then securely strapped to the bed-bottom by broad strips of canvas a2, joining the side bars CZ and Z.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isl. In an invalid-bedstead, the combination of a stand, a tiltable bed-bottom mounted thereon, apower-shaft on the stand having a right and left screw-thread, traveling nuts upon the screw-threaded power-shaft, arms jointed at their lower end to the nuts and provided at their opposite ends with globular projections, and sockets, connected to the IOO IIO

bed-bottom, receiving said globular projections; substantially as described.

2. In an invalid-bedstead, the combination of a stand, a tiltable bed-bottom mounted thereon, a power-shaft on the stand having a right and left screw-thread, traveling nuts upon the screw-threaded power-shaft, arms provided at their lower end with yokes journaled to opposite sides ot the nuts, said arms being provided at their opposite ends with globular projections, and sockets, connected to the bed-bottom, receiving said globularprojections; substantially as described.

3. In an invalid-bedstead, the combination of a stand, a tiltalole bed-bottom mounted thereon, a power-shaft on the stand having a right and left screw-thread, traveling` nuts upon the screw-threaded power-shaft, arms jointed at their lower end to the nuts and provided at their opposite ends with globular projections, and sockets, connected to the bed-bottom, receiving said globular projections, said sockets being made up of separato the side bars of the bed-bottom; substantially as described.

- 4f. In an invalid-bedstead, the combination ot' a stand, a tiltable bed-bottom mounted thereon, apower-shaft on the stand having a right-and-left screw, traveling nuts upon the screw-threaded power-shaft, said nuts having bosses on their opposite sides, arms provided at their lower end with yokes having bosses and connected to the nut-bosses by journalpins, and a universal-j oint connectionbetween the upper ends of the arms and the bed-bottom; substantially as described.

5. In an invalid-bedstead, the combination with the tiltable bed-bottom and the stand upon which the bed-bottom is supported, of

with saddles or yokes Within which the side bars of the bed-bottom rest, and means for connecting said yokes to the side bars; substantially as described.

G. In an invalid-bedstcad, a seat-rest provided with means for sustaining it from the upper part of the bed; substantially as described.

7. In an invalid-bedstead, a seat-rest provided with means for sustaining it from the vupper part of the bed, said means consisting of ilexible straps; substantially as described.

8. In an invalid-bedstead, a seat-rest proupper part of the bed, and a foot-rest supported from the seat-rest substantially as described.

9. In an invalid-bedstead, a seat-rest provided with means for sustaining it from the upper part of the bed, and a foot-rest supported from the seat-rest by flexible straps; substantially as described.

10. In an invalid-bedstead, a seat-rest L tion with the bed-bottom of a supplemental adapted to rest upon the surface of the bed and means for raising and supporting said seat-rest at its ends above the surface of the bed; substantially as described.

'11. In an invalid -bedstead, a seatrest adapted to rest upon the surface of the bed, and means for raising and supporting said seat-rest at its ends above the surface of the bed, said means consisting of bracket-legs connected to the ends of the seat-rest; substantially as described.

12. In an invalid-bedstead, a scat rest adapted to rest upon the surface of the bed, and means for raising and supporting said seat-rest at its ends above the surface ot the bed, said means consisting of bracket-legs connected to the ends of the seat-rest, and hinged to fold longitudinally thereof; substantially as described.

13. In an invalid-bedstead, a seat-rest provided at its ends with socket-pieces, and

bracket-legs pivoted to said socket-pieces, and

adapted to fold longitudinally ol' the seatrest; substantially as described. ble halves having extensions for boltin g them i 14. In an invalid-bedstead, a seat-rest pro- `vided at its ends with socket-pieces, and

bracket-legs p ivoted to said socket-pieces and i adapted to fold longitudinally ofthe seat-rest,

and IieXible straps connected to the socketpieces and extending to the upper portion ot the bedstead; substantially as described.

15. In an invalid-bedstead, a seat-rest provided at its ends with socket-pieces, and

bracket-legs pivoted to said socket-pieces and f adapted to told longitudinally of the seat-rest, and Iiexible straps connected to the socket-- pieces and extending to the upper portion of the bedstead, in combination with a foot-rest and iiexible straps connecting said foot-rest f with said socket-pieces; substantially as dev scribed.

brackets pivoted to the stand and provided z 16. In an invalid-bedstead, the combination with the end boards having retaining 4catches or hooks thereon, of a stretcherframe, and removable su stainin g-rods for said stretcher-frame adapted to rest upon said hooks or catches; substantially as described.

17. In an invalid-bedstead, the combina- Ltion with the end boards having retaining catches or hooks thereon, of a stretcherframe, and releasable sustaining-rods for said stretcher-frame adapted to rest upon said i hooks or catches, and provided at their ends .with sleeves of soft india-rubber; tially as described.

vided with means for sustaining it from the substan- 18. In an invalid-bedstead, the combination with a stretcher-frame provided with the bed; substantially as described.

19. In an invalid-bedstead, the combina- IOO IIO

frame, means for supportingsaid frame above its edges from the frame and provided with the bed, and a flexible bathtub supported at an outflow-pipe; substantially as described. 1o

its edges from the frame; substantially as de- In testimony whereof I affix my signature scribed. in presence of tWo Witnesses.

20. In an inValid-bedstead, the oombina- GEORGE ELMER GORHAM. tion with the bed-bottom of a supplemental IVitnesses: frame, means for supporting said frame above FREDK. E. VADHAUS, the bed, and a flexible bath-tub supported at CHAS. H. MILLS. 

